BASF, Monsanto Discover World’s First Drought Tolerant Corn

10:48 PM MDT | June 10, 2009 | Kara Sissell

BASF and Monsanto say they have discovered a naturally occurring gene that will help corn plants combat drought conditions, the first biotechnology-derived drought-tolerant crop in the world. The companies forecast it will be ready for commercialization by 2012, pending regulatory approvals. The newly discovered trait derives its drought resistance from the Bacillus subtilis gene, or cspB, from, the companies say. “In corn, cspB works by helping the plant maintain growth and development during times of inadequate water supply. A corn plant is particularly...